Fall Theater 2012: 46 more shows for the next few months

"Trainspotting USA" is a new commerical production that resets the story to Kansas City, Mo.

Kerry Reid, Special to the Tribune

This summer might have been too darn hot, but the theater scene is about to zoom into the red zone. It's impossible to do justice to the awe-inspiring variety of work that is waiting in the wings this season at theaters large, small and in-between, but here are a few options to get you started.

BIG SPLASHES AND LONG RUNS

"Million Dollar Quartet": The Other Fab Four are rocking on for their fourth year in Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux's musical about the night that Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins all showed up at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn. Apollo Theater; open run

"Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind": The longest-running show in town keeps rolling the dice as it celebrates 24 years of "30 Plays in 60 Minutes." Or from Oct. 4 to Nov. 10, choose "44 Plays for 44 Presidents," an Obama update of the show that touches on each of the American commanders in chief. Both at the Neo-Futurarium

"Cupid Has a Heart On": The long-running musical sketch comedy show from the Cupid Players, created by Brian Posen, moves from iO to Posen's own Stage 773 for a late-night Saturday date option. Stage 773; open run

"Messing with a Friend": Susan Messing (who, in a just world, would be as famous as Tina Fey) continues her two-person late-night Thursday improv showcase, which brings in a different guest weekly to create long-form scenes. Annoyance Theatre; open run

"Good People": The clash of socioeconomic classes forms the backdrop for David Lindsay-Abaire's Tony-nominated play about a dollar-store clerk in South Boston who loses her job and reaches out for help from a former "Southie" flame who is now a doctor. K. Todd Freeman directs the regional premiere, and Mariann Mayberry plays Margie, the role originated by Frances McDormand. Steppenwolf Theatre; Sept. 13-Nov. 11

"Metamorphoses": Lots of splashes take center stage — or pool, rather — in this remounting of Mary Zimmerman's Tony Award-winning staging of the myths of Ovid, which uses an actual onstage swimming pool as the matrix for the storytelling. Members of the original Lookingglass cast reunite for the company's 25th season opener, which will travel to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Lookingglass Theatre; Sept. 19-Nov. 18

"Kinky Boots": A drag queen has to save a shoe factory in this new musical, based on the 2005 film. It features a book by Harvey Fierstein ("La Cage Aux Folles") and score by the 1980s Queen of Quirk, Cyndi Lauper. Jerry Mitchell directs the high-profile pre-Broadway run. Bank of America Theatre; Oct. 2-Nov. 4

"Black Watch": Chicago Shakespeare's indispensable World's Stage brings back the National Theatre of Scotland's stunning piece (created by Gregory Burke) about a Scottish regiment's travails in Iraq and at home. Once again, John Tiffany's staging uses the Broadway Armory in Edgewater to create an all-encompassing environment. Broadway Armory; Oct. 10-21

"Woyzeck on the Highveld": Another overseas meditation on war, this one courtesy of South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company and artist William Kentridge. Georg Buchner's unfinished 19th century play about a common soldier and his unfaithful lover comes to life under Kentridge's direction, with animated film, live performances, and, of course, puppets, as a tale of a migrant worker in 1956 Johannesburg. It coincides with the Museum of Contemporary Art's "DNA: William Kentridge" exhibition. Museum of Contemporary Art; Sept. 27-30

CLASSICAL SPINS

"Hamlet": Glencoe stands in for the rotten state of Denmark in Michael Halberstam's staging. The powerhouse cast includes Scott Parkinson in the title role, with Shannon Cochran as Gertrude, Timothy Edward Kane as Laertes, Ross Lehman as Polonius, and Larry Yando as the Ghost, among other heavyweight talents. Writers' Theatre, Glencoe; Sept. 4-Nov. 11

"Iphigenia 2.0": Charles Mee's slice-and-dice approach to Greek tragedy takes Euripides' "Iphigenia at Aulis" and gives it a post-modern makeover for the Age of Infotainment. David Kersnar directs. Next Theatre, Evanston; Sept. 6-Oct. 14

"Jitney": The first play that the late August Wilson wrote (but not the first produced) for his monumental 10-play cycle about African-American life in the 20th century takes place in an unlicensed cab company in 1977, where the owner's son has just returned from a stint in prison. Ron OJ Parson directs. Court Theatre; Sept. 6-Oct. 14

"The Woman in White": Wilkie Collins' Victorian-era chiller about a woman trying to escape an abusive marriage is adapted by Robert Kauzlaric (who also did the honors for Collins' "The Moonstone" in 2011 at Lifeline) and directed by Elise Kauzlaric. Lifeline Theatre; Sept. 7-Oct. 28

"Commedia King John": Call it, Shakespeare in a Mask. Chicago dell'Arte takes the story of the monarch who signed the Magna Carta, under duress, and presents it as a history lesson within a classic commedia scenario. Derek Jarvis directs. The Den Theatre; Sept. 7-29

"Equivocation": Call it, Shakespeare Undercover. Bill Cain's play imagines the Bard as a paid propagandist for the state, torn between his own ethics and pushing the government's version of the Gunpowder Plot that was hatched by Guy Fawkes, whose visage you've seen if you've been anywhere near an Occupy rally. Sean Graney directs. Victory Gardens Theater; Sept. 14-Oct. 14

"Titus Andronicus": Call it, Shakespeare in Blood. Emma Peterson's staging of this horrifying tale of power and revenge provides a contemporary lens on the disturbing material. You may want to order vegetarian before seeing this one. Right Brain Project; Oct. 11-Nov. 10

"Schweyk in the Second World War": Another leftist lost in La-La Land: Bertolt Brecht's "musical survival guide for oppression and tyranny" finally gets its Chicago premiere, courtesy of Red Theater. Director Aaron Sawyer updates the piece, which Brecht wrote while in exile during the 1940s, for the post-9/11 era. Stage 773; Oct. 16-Nov. 11

SAVVY FINDS

"Impenetrable": Chicago writer Mia McCullough tackles the beauty myth in this play about a controversy that erupts when a spa billboard in a North Shore suburb highlights the "problem areas" on a model's body. Greg Werstler directs the world premiere for Stage Left. Theater Wit; Sept. 1-Oct. 7

"Wrens": Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, which got a new permanent home in Edgewater this spring, celebrates its 17th season with a remount of its very first production, which nabbed three Joseph Jefferson Awards. Anne McGravie's play, directed by Karen Kessler, follows members of the Women's Royal Navy Service (WRNS, or "wrens") as World War II draws to a close. Rivendell Theatre Ensemble; Sept. 6-Oct. 13

"Tusk Tusk": Rising British playwright Polly Stenham's drama about London siblings fending for themselves after their mother goes missing gets its U.S. premiere under the direction of Jennifer Green and with a cast of young newcomers. Piven Theatre Workshop; Sept. 8-Oct. 7

"The Skriker": Caryl Churchill's mind-bending dystopian fairy tale about the titular shape-shifter who wreaks havoc on the lives of two young mothers gets an outing with director Eric Hoff, who this year staged Ike Holter's acclaimed Stonewall drama "Hit the Wall" for the Inconvenience. Red Tape Theatre; Sept. 13-Oct. 20

"Freshly Fallen Snow": A doctor who pioneers a technique for erasing traumatic memories from war veterans starts uncovering the pain of her own mother, who survived the firebombing of Dresden in World War II. Local playwright M.E.H. Lewis' newest kicks off the season for Chicago Dramatists under Meghan Beals McCarthy's direction. Chicago Dramatists; Sept. 20-Oct. 28

"Making Noise Quietly": More life during wartime: Director Erica Weiss, whose staging of "A Twist of Water" plays Manhattan this fall, makes her Steep debut with this triptych of plays by British playwright Robert Holman, whose work has inspired Steep favorites Simon Stephens and David Eldridge. The plays are set during World War II, the Falklands and in 1986. Steep Theatre; Oct. 4-Nov. 10

"Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom": A role-playing video game in which multiple players try to kill zombies spins away from the virtual and into real life in Jennifer Haley's comic horror story, directed by Joanie Schultz. Strawdog Theatre Company; Oct. 7-Nov. 10

"In Pigeon House": Seanachai Theatre Company takes a drug-fueled trip back across the pond with the world premiere of Honor Molloy's rave vaudeville (music by Paul Loesel), directed by Plasticene vet Brian Shaw. Molloy juxtaposes the contemporary club scene in Dublin with the "fit-ups," or traveling shows that toured the Irish countryside in the early 20th century. Den Theatre; Oct. 17-Nov. 18

"Blackademics": Former Chicago-based playwright Idris Goodwin returns with this comedic drama about two female colleagues in academia whose night on the town uncovers personal and political conflicts. It opens the season for MPAACT, under the direction of Shepsu Aakhu and Marie Cisco. Greenhouse Theater Center; Oct. 12-Nov. 25

"Evanston, Which is Over There: A Tale of Men and Women in the Modern World": Beau O'Reilly, the godfather of the Chicago fringe and a co-founder of Curious Theatre Branch, unveils his latest, in which a group of misfit friends embark on adventures and misadventures in Rogers Park, including close encounters with hippies, baristas, Buddhists and a Montenegrin chorus. It premieres, suitably enough, at a Rogers Park venue. The Side Project, Nov. 9-Dec. 16

"Wasteland": Two POWs in Vietnam bond through a solid prison wall, despite the many political and social differences that also separate them. William Brown directs the world premiere of Susan Felder's drama. TimeLine Theatre, Oct. 12-Dec. 30

TUNEFUL TREATS

"A Class Act": Porchlight Music Theatre presents this tribute to composer/lyricist Edward Kleban, who shared the Tony Award for best score with Marvin Hamlisch for "A Chorus Line" and died at age 48 in 1987. Structured as a behind-the-scenes look at how musicals are made, the show features work by Kleban that was never performed in his lifetime. Stacey Flaster directs the Chicago premiere. Theater Wit; Sept. 1-Oct. 14

"Xanadu": We're a long way off from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan," but this bubble-gum musical offers a pleasure dome of sorts. Based on the 1980 fantasy movie musical starring Olivia Newton-John, the stage version features a power-pop score by Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra and John Farrar and a book by Douglas Carter Beane. Most importantly, it features roller -skates — which should provide a fun challenge for director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell. Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook Terrace; Sept. 6-Oct. 28

"Grease": Yes, the stage version by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey predates the movie, but Olivia Newton-John is also indelibly linked to this ur-musical about the 1950s, which famously got its start at the old Kingston Mines Theater in Chicago. Michael Unger directs. Paramount Theatre, Aurora; Sept. 12-Oct. 7

"The Amen Corner": This gospel musical, based on James Baldwin's 1965 play about a storefront pastor in Harlem and her estranged musician husband, kicks off the season under Runako Jahi's direction at the oldest operating professional African-American theater in Chicago. Eta Creative Arts Foundation; Sept. 13-Oct. 21

"The Spitfire Grill": James Valcq and Fred Alley's redemptive musical, based on the warmhearted 1996 movie about a recently released female convict who finds salvation in the title eatery, gets an intimate staging with Bohemian Theatre Ensemble under Anna Hammonds' direction. Heartland Studio; Sept. 14-Oct. 14

"Godspell": Stephen Schwartz's break-out 1971 hit gave a hippie-rock twist to the Gospels, with the help of book writer John-Michael Tebelak. M. William Panek directs for The Brown Paper Box Co. Collaboraction Studio; Sept. 20-Oct. 7

"Assassins": The dark heart of American politics and celebrity gets skewered in Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's musical about presidential assassins. (They got there long before Sarah Vowell's "Assassination Vacation.") Director Billy Pacholski stages an independent production right before the presidential election — which is either very good timing or very bad taste. Viaduct Theatre; Oct. 10-Nov. 10

"Harold and the Purple Crayon": Chicago Children's Theatre premieres a new musical based on the beloved Crockett Johnson book and created by Don Darryl Rivera, Robert Burgess, and Auston James. Sean Graney directs the production, recommended for ages 3 and older+. and up, which is the first in the company's season at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. It will also tour to Beverly Arts Center and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. Ruth Page Center for the Arts; Oct. 11-Nov. 4

"The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story": David Rice's popular adaptation of chilling Poe tales and true stories from the author's tragic life returns to First Folio Theatre in an ambulatory production in the Peabody mansion. Mayslake Peabody Estate, Oak Brook; Sept. 26-Nov. 4

"Hellcab": When you're a Chicago cabbie, every night is Halloween. Will Kern's sardonic comedy about a cab driver and the motley assortment of fares who make his life a nightmare became a long-running cult hit in the 1990s and appeared in celluloid form in 1997 as "Chicago Cab." It returns home for a 20th anniversary staging at Profiles, directed by Darrell W. Cox. Profiles Theatre Main Stage; Nov. 9-Dec. 23